Australian Wheat Board

Australian Wheat Board Australian Wheat Board Australian Wheat Board (AWB) Limited is a grain marketing organization based in Australia. It had been a government body since its commencement in 1937 until 1 July 1999 when it was handed over to the Australian wheat growers. AWB is organized into three divisions: rural services, financial services, and the commodity management unit. In this arrangement, the rural services division supplies the products to the retail stores that distribute the commodities to the rural areas of Australia while the commodity management provides the products to the global customers in more than 50 countries. Even though this organization has got various ethical standards to be followed by its employees, it has also faced challenges from the corruption scandals which occurred in the mid 2000s (Botterill 41). The specific fraud issue that affected the organization is corruption scandals which took place in 2005. It took the form of bribery and kickbacks which were paid to Saddam Hussein, the former Iraqi leader. The fraud occurred in 2005 when the company was alleged to ignore the United Nations sanctions and the Australian law which forbids such actions. This companys action was meant to help to retain the commodity exchange business between Iraq and the company. The illegal action resulted into a 230 million dollars compensation for the damages caused to the North American farmers when they lost their market due to corruption. The organization also lost its monopoly status again the management was changed. At this particular time, Andrew Lindberg was the managing director and was fined 100000 U.S dollars. while Paul Ingleby was the chief financial officer, who later paid 10000 U.S dollars as fine. Another fraud the company faced was that of obtaining financial advantage through deception and giving of misleading information to the auditors in the year 2000 by the then AWB chairman, Clinton Condon. The fraud, which also made the organization to realize a loss of 12.5 million, started when two employees, Mark Timleris and Claire Horsman falsified some contracts and fabricated reports to the banks. They also engaged the organization in speculative foreign exchange trades so as to hide the company losses for several years before they told Clinton in the year 2000. However, Clinton went ahead and signed the audited financial statements in 2001 despite him being aware that they were faulty. Both the two employees and Clinton were therefore put into jail. In all these scandals, it is evident that the ethical standards breached are the requirement to avoid any financial deception and the need to report any to report any form of ethics violation as was done by the two employees and Cli nton. Also the managing director failed to honour the market guiding standards (Botterill 113). Concerning the making of ethical decisions within the organization, the management of the company has come up with various ideas for realizing the best code of ethics whenever an ethical problem has been realized. Its first step is the identification of the problem. In this case, the management commits itself to establish the exact ethical problems which need to be tackled. Thereafter, it analyses the code of ethics relevant to that particular problem in order to find out whether there is any drawback in the standards (Botterill 458). The management then determines the nature and dimensions of the dilemma in order to find out the extent of damage caused by the subject problem. Various problem solving actions are then proposed by the management to exploit all the possibilities. Thereafter, the possible courses of actions are evaluated and the best one is selected to solve the ethical problem. Finally, the chosen course of action is tested, evaluated, and implemented when the organizat ion is sure that it will give an ethical solution to the current ethical problem (Botterill 459). The Australian Wheat Board operations are also guided by the various rules and regulations which are categorized into two components. These components are the business practices and the personal conduct of the staff. The staff members behaviors are guided by various rules which include the requirement to regularly read the codes of conduct so as to continually familiarize themselves with any change. The employees are also required to comply with the code of conduct and seek for clarification from the human resource department on the scope of such guiding principles. Employees are also given the responsibility to report any form of ethics violation by any party within the organization. They are also required to comply and support any investigation involving the breach of code and the companys policies and procedures (Lindberg 3). The organizations code of conducts further states that the employees may also not accept incentives or inducements from organizations, since such incentives may be compromising to the employees work obligations. However, the company has also stated the circumstances under which an employee can accept such gifts. For instance, a gift or benefit can only be accepted when they value less than 300 dollars. But in cases where the amount is greater and its rejection may imply negatively to the company, they can be accepted after notifying the managing director. Emphasis is also put on ensuring that the employees loyalty to the other staff members and management does not compromise the appropriate standards of ethical behavior and courses of actions (Lindberg 5). Lindberg, (10) further states that the management of the company is also required to protect the employees from any victimization for whistle blowing over misconducts by any member of the both the junior and senior staff. Additionally, it requires treating all the employees without any form of discrimination. Finally, the companys employees should not take the advantage of private information, as it can negatively affect the organization. On the other hand, business practices codes of conduct are the rules guiding the behavior of the people acting on behalf of the company. These practices include the avoidance of deception and unfair practices against other stakeholders. The employees should also practice honesty and good faith while dealing with other stakeholders. Employees are also required to respect their obligations in taking care of the AWB assets, resources, and confidential information (Lindberg 11). Purchasing of contracts is also required to be conducted in ethical manner. It involves making arrangements in accordance to the AWB tender requirements which emphasizes fairness, equality, and the clear statement of the contract requirements while handling the potential contractors. Finally, all the employees are required to maintain the professional standards of dressing and general presentation (Lindberg 16). Conclusion As demonstrated in the Australian Wheat Board, it is evident that ethics should be observed in every organization for a smooth running and for a positive image.

Accounting, write a memo about Sony company Essay

Accounting, write a memo about Sony company - Essay Example Interesting content from proxy statement: â€Å"In a case where the outside director is reelected as an outside director of the corporation and reassumes his/her office as an outside director of the corporation, this agreement should continue to be effective after reelection and re-assumption without any action or formality.† This implies that in reelection of outside directors no formality is followed but the contract with the corporation is automatically renewed. In such instances the directorship is suppose to be formally executed like other directors by the use of the signature and company stamp but here it is no done. Positive Aspect: The annual report is viable and reasonable in that they require further tests to be conducted. While the primary objective of the report was to look at the effectiveness of the project in ensuring costs saving and operational efficiency, the project also looked at other information in a cursory manner as well (Simplified Acquisition Procedures for Federal Purchases, 2004). The report also suggests that independent study must be conducted to ensure that the prices of items being offered via the simplified acquisition procedures are at least at par with their market equivalents. Concerning Aspect: The first and the most concerning issue is that of carrying cost. The organization may carry excessive amounts, however the organization will have to bear excessive carrying costs to ensure that the products are kept in usable conditions and that they are not damaged due to prolonged periods of storage. These costs are not insignificant and in case of sensitive equipment, the equipment maintenance costs are a major portion of the organization is operating overheads. Overall: the annual report and proxy statement enables one to understand and the strategy of the company. It also enables one to comprehend the strategic direction as it

Business Investors Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Business Investors - Essay Example The aim is actually to create a balance of money in circulation i-e bringing money supply and demand in equilibrium to accomplish business growth and economic stability. Secondly, Fed changes the Reserve ratio which means the percentage of commercial bank deposit liabilities required as reserves. And third is the change of discount rate which is the interest rate the Fed charges on loans to banks and thrifts. (McConnell and Brue, 2002) Fed uses a â€Å"tight monetary policy† when an economy observes inflation (increasing trend in prices). Here I assume that it is a demand-pull inflation which means that Aggregate demand is excessive relative to the economy’s full employment level of real output. It is actually the spending that has resulted in inflation. Fed then reduces the money supply by open-market purchases, increase the reserves ration and the discount rates. Banks will in turn stop issuing new loans as old loans are paid back. Higher interest rate discourages investment, reduce aggregate demand and refrain this inflationary trend. A typical business cycle has four stages which include peak, recession, trough and economic recovery. A â€Å"Peak† is observed when the economy reaches a temporary maximum point. Here, the economy is at full employment level and the output is at or very closer to economy’s capacity. Then, the peak is followed by an economic decline called as â€Å"Recession†. The total output produced, trade, prices, employment and income generated by an economy contracts and it observes a negative growth. The next stage is known as â€Å"Trough† where output and employment reaches a â€Å"temporary minimum†. The Fed in order to cope with this situation introduces an â€Å"easy monetary policy† which aims to increase money supply by pumping more money in the economy, lower reserves ration and discount rates. Investment is encouraged because of reduction in interest rates, aggregate demand increases and

United States public debt Essay Example for Free

United States public debt Essay The United States deficit, surplus, and debt will always have an impact on taxpayers. In the state of high deficit the government seeks ways to cut and save money for debt payment. The government does this by pulling funding from programs that have little government impact. Increasing taxes also supplies the government with extra income. In addition to the reduction or elimination of certain tax credits, the government analyzes school funding for cost effectiveness. Each step the government takes has a trickling effect on taxpayer’s dollar. The Effects of U.  S. Deficit, Surplus, and Debt When a surplus exists, the government has extra funds to spare and infuse into the economy. This surplus will increase government programs. When the government has a surplus it focuses on its needs by order of necessity, similar to the way individuals do when they have extra money. This can lead to new tax credits for taxpayers. However, when the nation is in debt the taxpayers are also in debt. The government uses tax money to finance their operations. If debt increases taxes go up, if debt decreases taxes lower for most. Effects on Future Social Securities and Medicare Taxpayers are affected by the U. S. deficit when there is a shortfall in revenue, which is the result of the National Debt increasing. Surpluses also have an effect on taxpayers as well. Programs like Social Security and Medicare receive government funding from tax money. Social Security takes contributions made by citizens to accumulate a surplus, which it uses to buy government bonds, which are government debt. These bonds accumulate and eventually mature. The money from the mature bonds helps to pay retirees. As American citizens contribute money into Social Security, the bond purchases mean that the government owes the Social Security program the value of the bonds purchases (Colander, 2010). The debt reported by the government for this purchase, however, is for on-budget accounts, while the U. S. reports unified accounts which include on-budget accounts but also adds off-budgets accounts as well. Like Social Security, Medicare relies on contributions made by citizens. However, Medicare makes use of third party payer markets, which helps people receive services who may be different from those who provide the services. Third party payer systems take contributions to help defray the cost or expense of providing the service while a portion of the services, such as Medicare, are paid by the consumer through the use of a co-payment system. The expenses incurred by instituting a program, such as Social Security, means that the costs of using this program are set against any revenues made for that same year. The cost of running Medicare and Social Security will rise as more Americans reach retirement â€Å"This will require more benefits be paid out than revenues are coming in, thus increasing the expenses and increasing the deficit† (Blahous, 2011). â€Å"The Social Security Administration figures that by the year 2040 the SS trust fund will be used up causing utilization of one of three options: borrowing, increasing revenue, or lowering benefits. The Medicare program is estimated to be much closer to crisis than the SS trust fund. In contrast to current Medicare and Social Security benefits budget of 35 percent, an increase to 60-65% may be necessary as early as 2030† (Colander, 2010). Current legislative discussions by political parties recognize the potential impact on future economic growth that this increasing deficit may have and are seeking ways to address as well as reform programs such as Medicare and Social Security. Unemployment and the Deficit Just as Social Security and Medicare are affected by the United States deficit and surplus, so is the unemployment rate. Increasing unemployment rates increase the deficit thus naturally reducing the deficit decreases unemployment rates as well. According to Ginsburg and Ayres (n. d. ), â€Å"The President and Congress try to outdo one another on who can cut the Federal budget deficit the most. But efforts to reduce the deficit at the expense of necessary social programs are unnecessary and counter-productive. In fact, much of the recent reduction in the deficit is due to the decline in unemployment† (p. 1). With record high deficits within the last years the idea of the government spending to spur the economy that ultimately would help reduce the unemployment level seems near impossible without further affecting the deficit rather than helping reduce it. University of Phoenix Students When students default on their loans, it adds to the national debt. The main problem lies in the fact that newly graduated students can’t find jobs that pay enough to reduce their debt â€Å"Tarah Toney worked two full-time jobs to put herself through college, at McMurry University in Abilene, Texas, and still has $75,000 in debt. She graduated in six years with a Bachelor’s in English and wanted to go on to teach high school† (Jaffe, 2011). Yet the government still requires the students to make on time payments. A surplus allows the government to use more money for grants and loans. The extra money from the budget goes into programs like the Pell grant. This enables more students to borrow or receive money to attend college. A deficit of funds affects students the same way student debt affects the government. To combat debt, cuts to government funding will take place. When the government cuts education funding, programs that fund grants lose money. The United States International Financial Reputation In addition to domestic ramifications regarding the United States deficit, surplus, and debt, international standing can waver due to a weak economy. These topics play an immense part in formulating this nation’s global standing. Maintaining its reputation as a world superpower is arduous during economic crisis. The deficit consists of the dissimilarly in government’s income and its disbursement. Other countries closely watch the deficit/surplus gap. America reputation rest whether it is positive or negative on the amount of the deficit. When the nation spending exceeds the amount it receives, America’s economy seems to be at risk. A surplus in funds strikes a balance to the United States receiving more money than it spends. Hall (2012) states, â€Å"†¦surpluses and deficits result from policy choices about government spending and taxes† (para. 6). If a surplus transpire because of the government not administering funds toward the policies that can help the United States run more efficiently, this can shed a negative light on its globe’s personal image. A Domestic Automotive Manufacturing (Exporter) As an exporter of domestic automobiles, the nation’s deficit, surplus, and debt can impose the prospering or nonsuccess of exporting. An economic strain on funds seeps down and effects American businesses. America prospers from its export and import business. Exporters in the automotive manufacturing lament when the nation’s deficit/debt is high. When America economy is failing, it experiences a lofty volume of automotive imports. American automotive manufacturers languish during economic decline. The automobile industry as a whole continues to be depressed as a result of the global economic depression† (Thompson Merchant, 2010, p. 12). Despite America’s economic problems Japanese manufacturers appear to thrive. Thompson and Merchant (2010) state, â€Å"†¦foreign automakers Toyota and Honda continued to achieve record high revenue levels through 2008 as they increased their market share in the United States† (pg. 12). During a surplus, automotive exports escalate for American manufacturers. A surplus in funds results in the nation’s ability to pay its impounding debt. Lowering debt equals lower interest rates. A surplus makes it easier for manufacturers to safeguard loans to export automotive parts. U. S. Deficit Effect on International Import The economies deficits, surpluses, and debt have an influence on both an Italian clothing design importer and GDP. For example, America can import clothing from an Italian clothing company. If the country has a financial deficit, they must reduce importation and focus on local product. This hurts international trade. A government surplus allows the country to purchase an increased amount of foreign goods. Surpluses, deficits, and debts also affect the nations GDP. As imports increase and deficits and debts increase, the GPD in the nation will decrease as less domestic goods are being sold in the country. When exports increase and a surplus occurs than GDP will increase as well as when there are more domestic products being sold in and out of the nation. Gross domestic product is the amount of products made in the country and sold. These can be both domestic products made and sold here along with exports made and sold elsewhere.

Essay --

Aluminum vs Composites in Aircraft Construction Since the Wright Flyer first took off from Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, in 1903, aircraft designers have been searching for ever better materials to build aircraft with. Over the years, we have seen construction materials progress from simple wood frames covered with fabric to advanced structures built entirely out of metal. As aircraft designs became more advanced, the need arose for materials which offered both higher strength and lighter weight. Since the beginning of World War II, aircraft construction consisted mainly of structures built from aluminum. Beginning in the 1960’s, NASA and the United States military began experimenting with the use of composite materials in aircraft. This revolutionary material seemed to be the answer the aviation world was looking for. It promised both gains in strength and weight reduction. However, with more and more composites being added to aircraft over the years, problems arose which ultimately may negate the overall benefits of the co mposites. The first problem with the use of composites begin...

Book of negroes essay

Hill uses effective Imagery to emphasize the fact that often loss Is worse than death itself. This is shown through the book when Amanita loses her parents, her child and her home. These losses are worse than death itself. Malta losing her own parents shows how losing them Is worse than dying herself. Watching her own baa die tears her world apart. She is still alive in this scene, but a little part of her died inside, along with the death of her mother. She might not be physically hurt but mentally, she Is dying.Amanita thinks, â€Å"But another man Intercepted her, raised high a big, thick club and brought It swinging down against he back of her head. Mama dropped. I saw her blood in the moonlight, angry and dark and spilling fast†¦ I struggled against the leash to look back over my shoulder, and saw that Mama was still on the ground, not moving† (26). The use of Imagery Is strong In this scene to emphasize what Malta endures while her baa Is killed. It paints a mental picture in the reader's head of all the emotions being exposed in this scene; fear, angry, and sadness.This part in the novel is an example of visual Imagery, allowing the reader to visualize the event Like they are actually there, seeing your own mother's. In this quote, the use of the words; blood in the moonlight, angry and dark and spilling fast, creates a very vivid picture. These words are striking to the reader and show how much detail there is in this scene, which causes the reader to have empathy for Amanita. Having to watch her own mother die will leave mental scars that will last her whole life.The reader can see that Malta is not severely hurt, but having to go through the pain of witnessing her mother's gruesome death is eating her on the inside. Effective imagery shows the loss of parents is worse than death itself. Malta losing Amanda hinders the fact that loss Is worse than dying herself. Her baby is taken from her without her consent. â€Å"And my baby disappeared into darkness as fast as a falling star†¦ Bring back my baby! I shouted. He laughed in my face. Bring him back! Too late. He's sold. Only got me five pounds†¦I never before wanted to kill a man. But I would have killed Robinson†¦ My heart and my body were screaming for Amanda. But my baby was gone. Sold, sold, sold. Appleby would not say where†¦ Appleby beat me, but I would 1 OFF due to the fact that Amanita wanted to kill Appleby if that is what it took to obtain her baby back. Amanita saying she would have killed Robinson shows how significant losing a child is since it is not like her to wish death upon someone. Hill creates this overwhelming scene to show what Amanita is going through.This scene causes the reader to feel sympathy for Amanita. At the same time, Amanita has already lost her parents and she does not want her baby to lose his. It is difficult enough for parents to send their child off to university or college, let alone having one's child stolen and sold. Having Appleby laugh in Mantis's face as her baby is taken, illustrates how the main Amanita when has inside her is as worse than death. As the reader envisions Appleby beating Amanita for not working, this shows how physical abuse is nothing compared to the pain of losing her son.The loss a child leads to pains that are worse than death. The loss of home causes an individual to feel like death would be easier to deal with. Amanita is captured and taken from her home. Not being able to return home is like having a part dying inside Amanita. â€Å"l knew in that moment that I would never make it back home†¦ I let go of my greatest desire. I would never go back home† (439 – 442). This is as worse as death because losing a home leads to depression and from the effects of depression can lead to death.Hill uses this situation to cause the reader to visualize how Amanita felt as she left her home, the place she grew up her entire life. At the same time, causes the reader to feel empathetic toward Amanita. It pains Amanita to think of having nowhere to go. If she did try to travel back, she would only be sold back to the slave market. People will say there is no place like home, but for Amanita, there is no place to call home anymore. Losing a place to call home is worse than death itself. In conclusion, personal losses have and always will have a huge impact on an individual's life.Hill's use of imagery throughout the novel keeps the reader occupied with visualizing all the losses that affect Amanita and making their own personal connection with every loss that Amanita experiences throughout the novel. The novel shows how personal losses like parents, one's child and home emphasize the fact these losses could be worse than dying. As a person loses things around or a part of them, they start to lose themselves, and once you lose who you are as a person a large piece of who you are dies as well

Mental Instability of Air Travel Passengers Free Essay Example, 2000 words

Other than mental illness or mental disorders and the use of illegal substances, other common determinants of physical violence include young and male individuals with very low socioeconomic status in life. There are cases wherein psychological disorders can be traced based on the presence of biological disorders. For instance, people with a borderline personality disorder often have abnormalities in their anterior cingulate cortex (Whittle et al. , 2009). In another study, Chanen et al. (2008) found out that people with borderline personality disorder have a significant reduction in the volume of hippocampal and amygdala. In general, people with mental health problems such as anti-social disorder, borderline personality disorder, or schizophrenia are the ones who are most likely to be involved in impulsive violence (Montanes-Rada, Ramirez and De Lucas Taracena, 2006, p. 930). Therefore, technically speaking, there is nothing much a cabin crew or the airline staff can do each time a person with mental health problems shows disruptive behavior. Even though people with mental or psychiatric disorders can safely travel by air under a stable mental health condition, Gordon, Kingham and Goodwin (2004) explained that people who are mentally ill should be accompanied by someone who is mentally fit and can provide the patient with immediate medication to calm them each time they project disruptive behavior onboard. In general, the ability of a person to solve social-related problems and self-esteem has something to do with aggression. We will write a custom essay sample on Mental Instability of Air Travel Passengers or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/pageorder now After examining the link between the ability of a person to solve social-related problems and self-esteem with aggression among a total of 205 college students, D'zurilla, Chang and Sanna (2003) found out that having a relatively low levels of self-esteem is one factor that can increase the risk of a person to experience hostility and anger whereas the inability of a person to solve social-related problems is linked to hostility, anger, and physical aggression. It simply means that anger and self-esteem can fully act as a go-between by the inability of a person to solve problems (D'zurilla, Chang and Sanna, 2003). In almost all cases, stress can strongly be related to higher levels of anxiety and depression; and that both anxiety and depression are some of the major components of psychological distress (Mushtaq and Najam, 2014). Furthermore, high levels of stress can also trigger anger and verbal aggression (Bodenmann et al. , 2010). After investigating the relationship between migraine and post-traumatic stress disorder, Karsikaya et al. (2013) found out that the incidence of post-traumatic stress disorder is higher among people with migraine and that people with post-traumatic stress disorder are the ones who often show signs of anger.